NBC Picks Up Community , Parks and Recreation

NBC has picked up the comedies “Community” (Thursdays, 8-8:30 p.m. ET) and “Parks and Recreation” (Thursdays, 8:30-9 p.m. ET) — as well as the new drama “Mercy” (Wednesdays, 8-9 p.m. ET) — for the rest of the season by adding nine additional episodes to each, it was announced today by Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios.

“We are very pleased with the critical and audience reaction to our wonderful new comedy ‘Community,'” said Bromstad. “The cast and producers are delivering a first-rate, quality show that is very promising as the newest of NBC’s first-rate Thursday-night comedies.”

About “Mercy,” Bromstad added: “This drama has found a dedicated audience and continues to build in the ratings. We’ve seen future episodes and we’re confident ‘Mercy’ can be a strong player for us.” She continued, ‘Parks and Recreation’ has proven to be a steady performer for us on Thursday nights and gets better with every show. We look forward to continuing our creative collaboration with Amy Poehler, Greg Daniels, Michael Schur, and the rest of the great cast and production team.”

Here is more on each show:

“Community” comes from Dan Harmon (“The Sarah Silverman Program”) and Emmy Award winners Joe and Anthony Russo (“Arrested Development”). The smart comedy series concerns a band of misfits who attend Greendale Community College. At the center of the group is Jeff Winger (Joel McHale, “The Soup”), a fast-talkin’ lawyer whose degree has been revoked. With some help from his fellow classmates, Winger forms a study group who eventually learn more about themselves than their course work.

Also among the series stars who comprise the group are: Chevy Chase (“Chuck”) as Pierce, a man whose life experience has brought him infinite wisdom; Gillian Jacobs (“The Book of Daniel”) as Britta, the 28-year-old dropout with something to prove; Yvette Nicole Brown (“Rules of Engagement”) as Shirley, a sassy middle-aged divorcee; Danny Pudi (“Greek”) as Abed, a pop-culture junkie; Alison Brie (“Mad Men”) as Annie, a high-strung perfectionist; Donald Glover (“30 Rock”) as Troy, a former high school football star trying to find his way and Ken Jeong (“The Hangover”) as Spanish professor, Senor Chang.

“Mercy” is from creator/executive producer Liz Heldens (NBC’s “Friday Night Lights”), executive producers Gretchen Berg & Aaron Harberts (“Pushing Daisies”) and Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun. The new medical drama concerns the lives of the people who work at Mercy Hospital seen through the eyes of those who know it best – its nurses.

Nurse Veronica Callahan (Taylor Schilling, “Dark Matter”) is an Iraqi war veteran who has just returned to Mercy Hospital and joins with fellow nurses Sonia Jimenez (Jaime Lee Kirchner, “Rent” on Broadway) and Chloe Payne (Michelle Trachtenberg, “Gossip Girl”). The cast also includes James Tupper (“Men in Trees”) as Dr. Chris Sands, a new doctor at the hospital who complicates Veronica’s life, Diego Klattenhoff (“Supernatural”) as Mike Callahan, Veronica’s estranged husband, Guillermo Diaz (“Weeds”) as Nurse Angel Lopez and James Le Gros (“Ally McBeal”) as Dr. Harris.

“Parks and Recreation” is a production of Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios. Along with Daniels and Schur, Howard Klein and David Miner also serve as executive producers for the series.